Texas made the most attempts to ban or restrict books in 2022, according to a new report from the American Library Association (ALA).
Last year, there were 1,269 documented censorship attempts to restrict 2,571 unique titles – the highest number ever recorded by ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom and double the 729 book challenges made in 2021.
Texas made 93 attempts to restrict access to over 2,300 books.
The book ban movement, has been gaining speed in recent years across the US, particularly in Republican-led states, and is becoming a central theme in religious-political activism. Often the books contain issues related to LGBTQ+ communities or race.
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison was the most challenged book in the state, on grounds it contained sexually explicit content. Other challenged books include Gender Queer, All Boys Aren’t Blue, and other books with LGBTQ+ or anti-racism themes.
Shirley Robinson of the Texas Library Association said: “Book challenges and censorship are nothing new. Libraries have faced these issues as long as libraries have been in existence. But the volume of challenges, and the vitriol against librarians, is unprecedented.
“Libraries are seeing multiple challenges, sometimes as many as 100, being brought forth. And often, people are not complaining about books they or their children have actually read, they are seeing books mentioned on the news or on social media and weighing in with complaints.”
In total, 30% of all book censorship attempts were made by parents. Seventeen percent of attempts were made by political or religious groups.
Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom said: “Overwhelmingly, we’re seeing these challenges come from organized censorship groups that target local library board meetings to demand removal of a long list of books they share on social media.
“Their aim is to suppress the voices of those traditionally excluded from our nation’s conversations, such as people in the LGBTQIA+ community or people of color.”
